The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership has initiated a new program intended to foster a network of “New Generation” Japan specialists. This unique effort is intended to build and enhance a network of “New Generation” Japan specialists that can bring diverse expertise and perspectives to the bilateral policy-making process in the mid- and long-term. This will lead to deeper and more vigorous dialogue and research on topics of immediate concern as well as on ways to strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship through cooperation and shared goals in the global arena.

To help commemorate the 2012 centennial anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States, the Mansfield Foundation launched the “Task Force on Crafting a Contemporary U.S.-Japan Vision for Shared Progress and Prosperity.” The Task Force comprises twelve American and Japanese experts from the private sector, academia, and government, who are drafting a set of forward-looking proposals for action through which the U.S. and Japan can contribute to mutual economic strength and vitality. These proposals will be presented during public seminars in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo in celebration of the spring 2012 Cherry Blossom Centennial. The task force program is part of a broader initiative by the Japan Commerce Association of Washington (JCAW) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York (JCCI), to commemorate the Cherry Blossom Centennial.

The U.S.-Japan Nuclear Working Group convenes a team of American and Japanese experts and officials representing diverse stakeholders in the two countries’ nuclear communities for a track-1.5 dialogue on post-Fukushima bilateral nuclear cooperation.

The Mansfield Foundation is hosting a series of four workshops, made possible by the generous support of Toyota Motor North America, aimed at facilitating U.S.-Japan cooperation on reducing emissions from passenger vehicles through integrating a broad range of technical and policy approaches. On April 26, 2010, the Mansfield Foundation hosted the first meeting of the series among a group of Japanese and American officials, scholars, and industry experts who discussed strategies for promoting the integrated approach and the fiscal reality affecting the funding of related measures.

This committee comprises participants drawn from the American and Japanese policy communities thought likely to directly participate in or influence U.S.-Japan relations at a political level in the next five to ten years. The committee addresses the full range of challenges and opportunities facing the U.S.-Japan relationship with the intent of deepening individual understanding of the issues and forging cooperative relationships between the participants—objectives that may benefit policymakers in both Washington and Tokyo for years to come.

Since 2011 The Mansfield Foundation’s Law of the Sea and Asian Maritime Disputes program has provided a forum for leading experts on international law, oceans law, and international security to discuss the increasingly heated territorial disputes in East and Southeast Asian waters. The specific focus of the program is on examining the relevance and potential role of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in resolving maritime delimitations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

The Mansfield Conference is an annual event that focuses on important themes of broad interest in the relations between the United States and Asia. It is rooted in the tradition of public education and service embodied in the career of Senator Mike Mansfield (1903-2001). As a university professor, Congressman, Senator, and Ambassador, U.S.-Asia relations were at the center of Mike Mansfield’s life work. The Retreat,is an opportunity for Conference participants to engage in candid, “off the record” discussions and explore ways of enhancing multilateral cooperation to address issues related to the global environment. Participants in past conferences have found these frank and friendly discussions at the Retreat particularly invaluable.

In response to tensions in the U.S.-Republic of Korea political relationship, the Mansfield Foundation initiated a project intended to forge stronger political relationships among the current and rising generation of leaders in Washington and Seoul. As part of this project, the Foundation organized a series of dialogues that engage those individuals who were most likely play key roles in post-Bush, post-Roh administrations and in U.S.-ROK relations for decades to come.

The Mansfield Foundation, in collaboration with the National Taiwan University, conducted a two-day roundtable dialogue and public conference in Taiwan on the Rule of Law in Asia September 9-12, 2009. The program marks the resumption of a series of conferences and meetings focused on the Rule of Law in Asia, a project initiated by the Mansfield Foundation in 1999. This program was organized in cooperation with internationally renowned rule of law expert Jerome A. Cohen (Professor, New York University Law School and Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations), Tsung-fu Chen (Associate Dean of the Law College, National Taiwan University), and Hsin-chun Wang (Assistant Professor of Law, National Taiwan University).

During the back-to-back hosting of APEC by Japan and the United States, the Mansfield Foundation and partner organizations arranged a number of events on APEC’s progress and future prospects for the Asia Pacific.